Northern Suburbs Branch, 19 October 2022
Our theme for the year, Anything Marine, finally got back on track in October when we were privileged to have Monique Barker and Talitha Wolfe from Save Our Marine Life come along to talk about marine parks in general and the proposed review and expansion of the Marmion Marine Park, in particular.
Following the showing of the film, The Sea & Me, which journeys around Australia’s big blue backyard, featuring local communities thriving alongside marine parks, Monique and Talitha briefly recapped the history of the existing Marion Marine Park. It was the State’s first marine park, being established in 1987. It is one of three metropolitan parks, the others being the Swan Estuary Marine Park and the Shoalwater Islands Marine Park.
Monique and Talitha told us that Save Our Marine Life is one of the two organisations representing the Conservation sector within the Sector Advisory Groups. These groups, comprised of representatives from interest groups and the local community (e.g., science, commercial fishing, recreational fishing, tourism/commercial operators, conservation, industry, water sports, local government, etc.), provide advice from the various sectors to the Community Reference Committee, DBCA and traditional owners during the planning process.
Regarding the proposed expansion, the existing Marmion Marine Park outer boundary will be extended to the State Waters border (3 nautical miles from shore), and the northern boundary will be extended from Burns Rocks up to Two Rocks. The southern boundary will remain at Trigg Island.
A new management plan and zoning scheme will be created through this review process. Within the marine park, there will be a mix of different zoning types, providing different levels of protection and allowing for various activities. This presents an exciting opportunity to protect Perth’s iconic marine life and treasured coastal lifestyle into the future. The presentation ended with a question-and-answer session.
You can show your support for a strong conservation outcome through this marine park opportunity by sending a letter of support to the Environment Minister.
Don Poynton